


Bloody Battles, Somber Days

by Kalua



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: (Aka Canon hurt poor Linnie so I'm sending Dad to comfort him), Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:29:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22615636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalua/pseuds/Kalua
Summary: Their first battle had been won, but Linhardt can't quite get into the festive mood his classmates seem to be in. Thus, he instead tries finding a quiet place to sort his thoughts.
Relationships: Linhardt von Hevring & Seteth
Comments: 6
Kudos: 63





	Bloody Battles, Somber Days

Linhardt closed his book and looked back towards Garreg Mach. The noise of the monastery was faint up here, but he could imagine it well enough. His classmates were probably talking, maybe even celebrating. And why wouldn’t they? They won. They _lived_.

But Linhardt couldn’t bring himself to relax, to rejoice. He still saw the man’s face before him—How terrified he’d been when the light left his eyes.

Linhardt shuddered at the thought. Maybe he shouldn’t feel guilty about killing him. After all, he knew that the bandits would have had no qualms killing him or his classmates.

The thought did not bring him any comfort.

Steps in the grass behind ripped him from his thoughts. Startled, Linhardt whipped around, the book hugged close to his chest.

“Ah, excuse me.” Seteth stopped; once he knew who had followed him, Linhardt relaxed, but only barely. “So this is where you were.”

“Were you looking for me?”

Seteth nodded. “Yes, I was. You left right after your class returned.”

“Um, is that forbidden? I just… wanted to read a little.” Linhardt lifted the book. Technically, it wasn’t a lie. He had wanted to read, in order to distract himself. It just hadn’t worked.

Seteth furrowed his brows, and Linhardt felt as if he was looking straight into his soul. “No, it’s not forbidden,” he answered, eyes still fixed on Linhardt. “I was just surprised about the timing.”

Linhardt was silent. This was an academy for the military. It was no secret that he disliked fighting, but he couldn’t very well admit just how much he detested it. Training bouts were one thing, but a real fight… Where it was kill or be killed… Linhardt had to choke back tears. Hopefully Seteth didn’t notice.

“You wouldn’t be the first student to be somewhat… shocked by their first battle. It tends to be less glorious than stories make it out to be.”

“Well, I…” Linhardt swallowed, trying to keep his voice under control. Trying not to think about the man’s last words, or the blood that had stained the ground. Of course, trying not to think about something only made the image even clearer in his mind. “I… Didn’t even know his name…” His voice broke, barely even a whisper now.

He’d feared Seteth would be angry, or that he’d just tell Linhardt to toughen up, but his next words were gentle. “That just makes it feel all the more tragic, doesn’t it?” Linhardt nodded, and Seteth carefully laid a hand on his shoulder. “There’s no shame in caring for others, Linhardt.”

“But I…” Linhardt couldn’t hold the tears back anymore, and had to stop talking.

Seteth hesitated for a moment, then wrapped his arms around Linhardt—slowly, to give him ample opportunity to step back.

Instead, Linhardt clung to the front of Seteth’s tunic, his tears soaking the fabric.

Seteth held Linhardt until the tears dried out, whispering gentle words of comfort, practiced as if he’d done this hundreds of times before.

**Author's Note:**

> Listen, Seteth has prime Dad Energy, most of his supports involve basically going "Student in need, I'll be their dad now", and Linhardt has the same Crest as Flayn, aka the person most important to Seteth. And canon is telling me Seteth _won't_ go comfort Linhardt after his first real battle? Well, canon is _wrong_ , and Seteth has just acquired yet another child. (Flayn sometimes asks if Seteth plans on adopting the whole monastery. Seteth hasn't denied that.)


End file.
